hilltop news

SMU physicists have achieved a new precise measurement of the top quark, a key subatomic particle. The new value from SMU confirms the validity of recent measurements by other physicists, but it also adds to growing uncertainty about aspects of physics’ Standard Model, particularly testing the strong force theory.

Jonathan Stolk has been appointed executive director of SMU’s Caruth Institute for Engineering Education and professor in the Simmons School of Education and Human Development. “His role within the Simmons and Lyle Schools will strengthen the collaborations that have been developed between our two schools, as well as establish exciting new opportunities throughout SMU,“ says Simmons School Dean David Chard.

A $1.75 million gift from Sarah Fullinwider Perot ’83 and Ross Perot, Jr., will endow the Thomas W. Luce, III Centennial Dedman Law Scholars Program at SMU, honoring Luce’s dedication to law and community while helping infuse scholarship students with his integrity and commitment to public service. The gift creates a $1.5 million endowment and provides an additional $250,000 in operating funds for the first five years. Pictured (from left) H. Ross Perot, Thomas W. Luce, III and Ross Perot, Jr.

SMU researchers have discovered three new drug-like compounds that could ultimately offer better odds of survival to prostate cancer patients. The drug-like compounds can be modified and developed into medicines that target a protein in the human body that is responsible for chemotherapy resistance in cancers, says Pia D. Vogel, professor of biochemistry at SMU and lead author on the scientific paper reporting the discovery.

SMU chemist Nicolay (Nick) Tsarevsky has received a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award, expected to total $650,000 over five years, to fund his research into new methods of creating polymers whose uses range from fluorescent materials to drug carriers, to everyday technologies.

Delores Etter, founding director of the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education in SMU’s Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering, has been named to receive INSIGHT Into Diversity’s “100 Inspiring Women In STEM” award. The award is presented by the magazine as a tribute to 100 women whose work and achievements not only encourage others in their individual STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, but also inspire a new generation of young women to consider STEM careers.

Raytheon Company has named SMU as a strategic partner in cyber research based on the company’s collaborative efforts with the Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security in SMU’s Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering. The strategic partnership includes joint research projects in cyber security, Raytheon internships for SMU students and strategic education initiatives benefiting both the University and the company.

Venture Commercial Real Estate today announced it has endowed the creation of the Venture Commercial Undergraduate Real Estate Award through the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Foundation to support Southern Methodist University undergraduate students at the Cox School of Business for at least the next 20 years. Each year, this endowed fund will award $2,000 to a deserving undergraduate student studying real estate or a related field.

SMU’s Bryson DeChambeau won the 115th U.S. Amateur Championship, joining Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus and Ryan Moore, as the only golfers to win the NCAA Individual Championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same year.

The STEMPREP Project at SMU recently received a $3.78 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to support its goal of increasing the number of minorities in STEM fields. The grant follows a $2.6 million award in 2014. SMU alumna Taisha Husbands ’15, a former STEMPREP student, is teaching science courses as part of this summer’s program before attending medical school in the fall.